Vehicle doors with sash constructions typically include mounting assemblies that attach a glass run and an exterior appliqué to a main door body. The typical mounting assembly is a sheet metal construction, which can determine vehicle craftsmanship and functional attributes. For example, the sheet metal construction can determine the distance from the outer surface of the glass windowpane to adjacent exterior surfaces. In this regard, the mounting assembly can determine the smoothness of the overall vehicle exterior surface.
Referring to FIG. 1, one known mounting assembly 10 is comprised of a one-piece sheet metal construction 12 with an overlapped portion 14 defining an interior channel 16 and an exterior surface 18. The interior channel 16 typically receives the glass run (not shown), which is an elastomeric seat that receives an end portion 20 of the windowpane 22 when the window is in the closed position. In this respect, the glass run can seal the windowpane 22 closed and cushion the windowpane 22. Furthermore, the exterior surface 18 of the mounting assembly 10 along with one or more adjacent exterior vehicle structures (not shown) typically have an appliqué (not shown) attached thereto. It is understood that the is offset from the windowpane 22 by the thickness (2T) of the overlapped portion 14 of the sheet metal 12. In other words, the appliqué is offset from the windowpane 22 by at least twice the thickness (T) of the sheet metal 12.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a mounting assembly that minimizes the offset distance between the appliqué and the windowpane and thus decreases air drag on the vehicle and streamlines the vehicle design.